Railway-car.



W. J. SPANGLER.

RAILWAY GAR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.3,1909.

Patented Jan. 10, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

( WW /I W41 W INVENTUR J 9 BY MTDBEiEY W. J. SPANGLER.

RAILWAY GAR. APPLICATION FILED APB.3,1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Jan 10, 1911.

wzmrm 1 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIOE.

. mum J. sPANGLEn. or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIeNoR T AMERLGAN GAS & Bowen COMPANY, A CORPORATION on NEW JERSEY.

' rd'au whom 'it may concern: "'-Be it known that I, W ALi'lER J. SPANGLER,

RAILWAY-CAR.

a citizen of the United States, and'a resident of Philadelphia, in; the county of Philadelphia and' State ot'Pennsylv-ania, have in- 'i 'ented certaln new and useful Improvements specification.

'in -Railu'ay-Cars, of which the following is invention relates to railway ears; and 'm'such connection it has particular relation 'to a railway car having individually driven wheels, and which is especially/adaptable for as a self contained' power drivencar,

that is to say, the arrangement and construction are such as to render the car particularly adaptable for the reception of an electrical generating set for the purpose of supplying power to the individually driven wheels, the

provide in such acarmeansforseparatel driving each traction wheel thereof; an

third, to so mount the wheels as to readily perinit the same to adjust themselves to curves and irregularities-of the track str'ucture, to the end that a long wheel base may he obtained without employing the double trucks and their consequent disadvantages as at present in use. My invention further contemplates "certain-improved details of construction in af.

railway car of the character' described,

. iwhereby access may be readily had to "the various parts thereof for purpose of examination and repair.

The natureand.characteristic feat 'l'rfes of my invention will be more readily understoodflfrom the following specification taken inff con'nection with the drawings forming .lIuFigurel is aside elevation of meander a railway car embody ng ,tl1,(3.- ,mtl1ll ea'tures of my present inventiong tlie other end being asubstantial duplicate the'r'eot; Fig. 2'19 a top or plan view thereof, with the body por-- tipn of the car removed for better illustratof the car and its latforms and-transverse levers 11 attheir outer ends, to-which are swaying of t-hc'c'ar with respect to the frame- Specifieati on of LettersPatent. Patented Jan, 10, 1911, Application filed April 3, 1909. Serial No, 487,660.

ing the various parts-of the structure, Fig.

3 is a longitudinal central section of a spring element employed in the car shown in Figs. '1 and 2 for thepurp'ose of maintaining" the wheels thereof in their normal posit ons; Fig. 4 is an end elevation, partlyimse'cthn,

"of the wheel structureofthe car shown 1n Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 5 is a horizontal-section I of oneof the wheelsof the car and its associated' individual driving mechanism {and Fig. 6 is a horizontal section, taken a proxiti'on'ofthe extensible frame s'tructure for supporting the wheels andtheir' individual driving mechanism. I,

eferring to-thedlr'awing'sfl is a car'body of any preferred type, wlnchisipreferably arranged on a frainework composed of-l'o'ngi-- tudina l members 8 running from end to end beams 9 upon whichdhe c'arbody' is sup- "porte'd Secured to'the longitudinal frame members 8, and extending across bet-ween the. same, are transverse rods 10, WlllCll carry secured the outerfree endsjof semielli'pt-ical springs 12 The semi-elliptical springs 12 are secured at their central portions to the upper side of a framework 13, which is suitably bracedat itslower portion by a radius rod 14 extending from said framework 13. to a trussing 15 of the "central portion of the ear. The transverse sf'pringrods 10 also" carrybrackets- 65, towhich arese'c'ixred the ends of spiral springs 66, which are connected at their inner ends to brackets 67 atthe top of the framework 13, as clearly'shown n in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the springs 66 serving to prevent longitudinal work 13, will be apparentw'ould' bethe case were not some restraining means-em ployed torevcn't' the same. Framework 13 is prefera ly made up of top and bottom tubular members 16 and 17, connected and 100 braced tt'lieir center by verticalst'ruts 18.

, Slide arranged in the tubular members 16 and 1 are bars fl9, haying'journals at their outer ends in which the trunnions 20 of an vl'i'elf' units are j ournaledf iclhe I bars 105 11 9 a'titlie top an'djbott'o'marfe braced 'toge ther near their. inner ends.

abut against the ends ot'the cut out portions 8 of the tubular framework 13, to thereby 110 act as a stop or limit to the inward and out ward movement of said bars 19 and their associated mechanism. The flanged traction wheels 22 and their associated driving mechamsm constitute ,the wheel unit, which as bind on the curves, producing a large amount of wear both on the trackand the "wheels. With; the construction of the present invention, however, the wheels are allowed 'to adjust themselves readily tosuchconditions so that a longer. wheelbase may be employed, and wear and tear on the various arts will be reduced to a minimum.

.It i's o course understood that in thefpresent style of track work where grooved rails are emploved in the curves thereof, that there must be necessarilya small range .ofyariation between the radii of the curves on a deselves to' variousc'onditions.

fined railway system'as well as the trucks of the rolling stock used thereon. With the construction of my resent invention, however, the wheels wi l readily'adjust them' I Considering now the action of. the wheels-of mypiesent invention, it will be understood that as a car is goingaround a curve, the 'framework 13 will not occupy a radial position thereon, and consequentlyv if the gage of the-track be maintained uniform on the curves, the greater distance between the flanges of the wheels of each pair thereof on a is-readily compensatedfor by t e bars 19. sliding in the tubular members 16 and 17 'at the top and bottom of the framework 13. to thereby automatically; adjust. thewheels .to the conditions to be met.- The purpose of swiveling the wheels 22 and theirassociated driving mechanism is to permit the wheels to occupy a position tangent to lthe curves,

it being understood -that dependence is in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

placed on'the co-action-of the flan es of'the wheels 22 and the groove of the rai s. usually employed .on curves, to cause the wheels to assume their proper position with respect to the track.- To maintain the. swiveled and extensible wheel units in their normal positions, there are provided a series of 'opposed pairs. of springs 25,- contained within casings 2, the detail construction of which is shown The springs 25 bear at one end against a collar 27 secured to the inner end of a square rod 28, which is provided-at its outer end Withfa hook 29 each adapted to engage a sion of the spring 25.

ven curve bracket 30, carried by the' spring rods 10 hereinbefore described. (The other end'of spring 25 bears against anintkinally thread ed plug 31, threadedjonth e interior of casing 26 for the purpose of fidjusting the ten- The otherend of easing 261is provi d with a hook 32 which engages a swivel eye bolt 33, secured to .the exterior of the housing of the wheel. unit, as clearly shownin Figs. 2 and4, the arrangement being such as to normally maintain the wheels in alinement with the track and in their innermost positions, that is to say with the trunnion'bars 19, retracted within the tubular members 16 and 17 of the framework- 13.

is shown in Fi 5 of the drawings, and will now be descr' ed. The'wheel 22 is journaled on a pin 33 extendin from the main housing ofthe wheel unitproper, being'held The detail construction of the wheel thereon by a threaded collar 48. Secured ;to the wheel 22 on its inner face, by means of bolts 34, is a casing 35 having an internal 1 gear 36-attached therein, the arrangement being such that gear 36 and casing-35 .are-

constrained to rotate with wheel 22 .Meshing with gear 36 is a pinion formed integrallywith a car 38 and mounted on a shaft 39 which s suit-ably journaled in ball 'shapedand forme iii. the usual manner, as

to'constitute part of the field magnets of the motor, of which 46 is the armature.- Attelr tion should now be-cal-led to the fact that the motor' is readily accessible for'the' purpose of inspection'and repair by removing a cap 46 on the inner end of the housing 45:)

'thereof, and that the ball bearings 44 and.

47 are so mounted in the housing that when the cap 46 is removed, the armaturemay be readily slipped out of place, this, effect being accomplished by making the opening at the inner en'd'gf t e armature shaft large enough when the ball bearing 47 is removed -therefrom, -to permit thepinion 42 to pass therethrough, Also,--that-T wheel 22 maybe readily removed, by first removing the collar 48,-atthe1end of pin 33, the wheel taking bearings 40 and '41 near the respective ends with it, when removed, the casing 35 and its:

internal gear, 36, after which access maybe had'vto'piniong37 and gear 38 by remov-.

'ing the nut 49 "at the inner end of shaft 39, pinion 37 and gear 38 and its. associated shaft'39 and bal bearingsm'aybe readily removed. To prevent the entrance ofd-ust and other extraneous matter, a casing 50 is employed tpfjenshroud the inner side of esi the internal gear 36 and its casing as well as he pinion 37 and gear 38.

.It w1ll of course be understood that with the swiveled and extensible wheel units herein employed, some special means must be devised for applying the brakes to the wheels .when desired. The preferred form of mechanism for accomplishing this is as follows.

Extending from the housing 45 of the wheel I 19 un1t;1s a bracket 51 in whlch-is 3ournaled a :asha ft carrying a lever 53, at one end of which a brakeshoe 54 is secured, while at the other end of said shaftthcre is carried a haven 55 connected by a rod 56 to a lever 57 pivotedintermediate its ends in the housing 5;;45 and having its upper free end in proxim- -it-y,to; thctuppertrunnion of the wheel nnit, that as the wheel units are swiveled jits center t v on their trunnions the brake mechanism will zo not be afi'ccte'd- To this upper free end of.

the lever 57', there is loosely secured a con- 1 necting rod 58, the other end of which'is *Iobsely pivoted to a compensating bar 59 a. .limselysupported and pivotally connected at irqugh a rod (50'to a lever oper ated by an air brake cylinder 62. The lever 5.161, adapted to be operated and controlled :i-by- -the ai'r brake cylinder 62, is also adapted ,to -be ope1"ated and controlled by a rod 63" BmeXteI-idingto the winding shaft 6t of any fordinary hand brake construction. a

In the foregoing construction and arrangement, there is provided a ,n'ieans by Qwhiclrresults can be obtained which have 35, notbeen heretofore attainable. Heret0fore ,in thepractice of street railway construction mud-operation, it has been usualto employ ;.ca'rs.hav ii1g motors of much higher horse i-power than is required under ordinary con- 4 0- ditions of operation, this being necessary, for

-s thejrcason that with the rigid form of axle "and wheel .constructionin' use, in going faround a ;curve a great deal of power was iiecessaryto overcome the slip resultin from the difference-in distance to be travcd ed by) the inner andouter wheels respectively; Bower was-not only 'wasted,,but it acted to ,producegreat wear and tear both on the tracks and the wheels, thus requiring constantrrenewals of these parts. On account of ;the necessity, for increased power on'the curves, an increase in weight in'the ent re structure occurred,-wh1ch also resulted in requirement for still more power. For this reason it has not been heretofore practicable to construct a self contained car, that is one having its own power generating set, and while a power generatingset is not shown in the drawings or. described in this specification, still it must be borne' in 'mind that the entire structure is designed and constructed with this end in view, itbeing rcadily understood that therc'is room and space under thebody of the car at the cen-,

65 tral portion thereof for the reception and support of such a power generating v set. The desired results are obtained by the construction herein shown and described, in the following manner; ,Each wheel havingjts own driving mechanism canrun. at ;.the proper rate of-speed which may be uniform all times assuming aposition in alinement flange of the wheel with the track structure, a much smaller amount of power is required in the aggregate than is required iii-the ordinary and usual means for driving railway cars as at present in use. Furthermore,

hereiir' shown and described there: is provided a railway car peculiarly adapted for use in city sti'eetswhe're the space is'limited and the' curves are of necessarily shortobtained either by theuse offshort cars .or'

"trucks,jrequir1ng feight wheels ,linst'ead of four, and resulting in and requirino'q-a much heavier construction throughout. o

Having 'thusl described the ;na tire and I. claim as 'new and desireto secure-by Letters Patent is: I a 1. In arailway car, a plurality of independently driven traction wheels, said wheels being mounted in oppositely disposed pairs longitudinally extensible with respect to each other.

2. In a rai pcndently driven tractionwheels, said wheels being mounted in oppositely disposed pairs longitudinally extensible with respect the car body. v v

3. In a railway car, a framework, a pair 'of wheel units slidably mounted therein and swiveled thereto, and means for maintaining the wheel units intheir normal positions.

4. In a railway car, a framework, a pair prising a motor and flanged'traetion wheel,

with the track dueto the co-action of the.

with the construction and arrangement as.

radius, a result whichilitis"heretofore been characteristic features of'my invention, what of wheel units slidably mounted therein' and swiveled thereto, said wheelunits each comand'gearing interposed between the'motorandfithe traction wheel j for transmitting In' a railway car, a framework, 9. pair with, or slightly ditterent, as in rounding.v curves, from the speed of the other Wheels of the car, and furthermore the wheels at" b the 'employment. of. swiveled double ice lway car, a plurality of indeto each other, and swiveled with respect to to, a gear casing secured to the traction wheel, an internal gear contained within said casing, a pinion on the motor shaft, and a gear and pinion journaled in the housing for transmitting power from the motor pinion to the internal gear carried by the casing secured to the traction wheel.

" I; In a railway car, a framework, a pair of wheel units slidably mounted therein and swiveled thereto, said wheel units each comprising a housing, a motor contained therein and a flanged traction wheel journaled thereto, means for transmitting power from said motor to said traction wheel, a removable cap secured to the housing, -a motor bearing carried by said cap, a second motor bearing carried by the interior of the housing, a

' pinion on the motor shaft, the bearing carried-by the interior of the housing being larger than said pinion, the entire construction and arrangement being such that when the housing cap is removed, the armature, its bearings and pinion may be slid from place within the housing.

8. In a railway car, a framework, a pair of wheel units mounted therein and swiveled thereto, saidwheel units each comprising,a

' housing, a motor contained therein, and a flanged traction wheel journaledthereto, a removable collar foi maintaining said traction wheel in place on 'its ournal, a gear casing secured to the traction wheel, an internal.

gear carried by said casing, said traction wheel, gear and internal casing constituting a unitary structure adapted to be simultaneously removable from the wheel unit.

' 9. In a railway car, a framework, a pair of'wheel unit's'slidably mounted therein and swiveled thereto, and means for maintaining the wheel units in their normal positions, sa1d-means comprising a resilient connection between said ,wheel units and the stationary portion of the car structure.

10. In a railway car, a'framework, a pair of wheel unitsslidably mounted therein and swiveled thereto, a brake mechanism carried by said wheel units, andmeans for controlling said brake mechanism carried'by the stationary framework of the car structure.

11. In a railway car, a framework, a pair of wheel units slidably mounted therein and swiveled thereto, a brake mechanism carried by said wheel units, and means for controlling said brake mechanism carried by the stationary franiework of the car structure, 'said brake mechanism comprising a brakeshoe', a lever pivoted to the wheel unit for controlling said brakeshoe, and a connect-ing rod extending from 'saidlever to work. 7

the brake controlling mechanism carried by the car framework, said connecting rod and leverbeingloos'ely pivoted to each other at a fpoint in proximity to the axis of the swivel o the wheel unit.

12. In a railway car, a car body,a framework upon which said car body is resiliently supported, said framework comprising tubular members and bars slidably mounted in sand tubular members having journals in their outer ends, in combination with wheel units trunnioned in the journals at the'outer I ends of said sliding bars.

13. In a railway car,a car body, a framework upon which said car body is resiliently supported, saidframework comprising tubular members and bars slidably mounted in said tubular. members having journals in.

their outer ends, in combiiiationwi'th'fyvheel units trunnioned in the journals at thefjouter ends of said sliding bars, andfimeansijjfor normally maintain' said bars their re tracted positions an said wheel 'un'its in their normal axial positions.

14. In a railwa car, a framework,;a paii of wheel units sli abl mounted {therein and swiveled thereto, an means for resiliently. supporting a car body "on said framework,

sai means comprising semi-elliptic springs secured to said framework at their central portions, levers secured to said spring: at

ing

their outer free ends, said levers journaled to the framework of'the car body,

and restraining means for preventing longi-.

means comprising semi-ellipltic springs 1 secured to said framework at t eir central portions, levers secured to said springs at their outer free" ends, said levers .being journaled-to the framework of the car body,

and restraining means for reventing long1- I tudinalswa ing of the car ody with respect to the whee unit framework said restra ning means comprising spiral springs con,-

nected at their respective ends to the car body'framework andthe'wheel unit frame- I In testimony whereof, have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

- f WALTER J. SPANGLER. Witnessesa 'PnRoIvAL K.- REED,

Man HOFMANN. 

